National Law Enforcement Coalition Arrests Record Number of Johns

Posted on August 10th, 2016

More than 1,300 sex buyers – a record – were arrested across 18 states in this summer’s National Johns Suppression Initiative aimed at reducing sex trafficking, Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced today.

The operation by a national coalition of law enforcement agencies recovered 32 underage girls lured into human trafficking and made 71 human trafficking arrests. The operation lasted approximately one month, from July 1 to August 7. **

This is the 12th operation for the nationwide initiative, which Sheriff Dart launched in 2011 to highlight the role of sex buyers – or ‘johns’ — as perpetrators in this violent and exploitive industry. The initiative has so far resulted in the arrest of more than 5,800 johns by more than 70 arresting agencies across 22 states.

This summer Sheriff Dart welcomed 10 new partners, including New York City and Philadelphia police departments. Initiative partners now cover the nation’s 10 largest cities.

This summer’s initiative also focused on ensuring that victims of sex trafficking were connected with appropriate social services. For departments without existing ties to service agencies, the initiative helped equip front-line officers with information to connect to the national human trafficking hotline to gain access to local services providers.

Cumulative numbers from the 12th National Johns Suppression Initiative campaign are as follows:

71 sex trafficking arrests

1,358 sex solicitation arrests (johns)

More than $1 million in fines

More than 1,300 charges (felony, misdemeanor and ordinance violations)

Oakland Police Department arrested a male buyer who left his 7-year-old daughter in the car. The child got out of the vehicle and wandered around the motel parking lot. She was rescued during the operation. He was charged with child endangerment in addition to solicitation.

Seattle Police arrested two three-member bachelor parties.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigations rescued a 12-year-old girl who had been abducted in Texas and trafficked to Tennessee for purposes of commercial sex.

Sheriff Dart reminds the public that the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty by the government in a court of law.

*Special thanks to Demand Abolition for their support of this national initiative.
**Some operations are executed outside the official time period due to the jurisdiction’s capacity
***All numbers are preliminary and subject to revision